


Curfew

by Silent_So_Long



Series: trope_bingo fills [3]
Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, Community: trope_bingo, Gen, Vampire Slayer(s), Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent_So_Long/pseuds/Silent_So_Long
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Chris breaks curfew and meets a vampire hunter.  A vampire apocalypse AU fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curfew

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for my "au: were/vampire/supernatural" on my trope_bingo card

The night streets were quiet, as Chris stole forward, feet planted squarely upon the ground at regular intervals, trying to make as little sound as possible so as not to give his location away. He scanned the streets before him, gaze roving over piles of rubble that lay scattered and abandoned by the sidewalks, often spilling out into the streets themselves in untidy heaps and bundles. He detected no movement in front of him, rubble illumined by the silvery light of the moon that swam almost too innocently overhead. 

The quietness of the streets always unnerved Chris; they had been quiet since the first uprising of the vampires some months previously, unhappy at their unequal rites as opposed to humans. Chris had sympathised with them at first; just because they were caught halfway between the dead and the living didn’t mean that they weren’t entitled to the same rights as anyone else in Chris‘ eyes. But then he found his sympathies waning when the riots and the violence had started, and people, normal living humans, had started getting killed. Now the majority of humanity that had been left after the Uprising had taken to hiding out in the ruins of LA, now totally different to the LA that Chris had known once upon a time. 

Now it was dangerous even to be seen out at night, for fear of being pounced upon by vampires, to either be used as food, turned or culled. Chris himself hadn’t planned on staying out so late that night, especially well past curfew and he cursed himself for being seven shades of stupid. He cursed again the fact that time had somehow gotten away from him, attentions all but diverted by finishing another round of Halo 4 at Karl’s house, his competitive nature getting the better of him whilst trying to beat Karl. In the end, he’d ultimately lost to the other man’s gaming skills, beer slowing his reflexes, or so he tried to claim to the laughingly exultant Karl. Chris wished he’d taken Karl up on his offer to crash at his place; he’d stayed in the guest bedroom plenty of times in the past, after all. The beer he’d consumed while at Karl’s had made him stupidly brave, thinking that he could weather any storm, vampiric or otherwise that came at him in the streets. He cursed himself again, the fog of drunkenness now burned away in the face of empty street induced sobriety. 

A sudden sound from behind him made him whirl, dislodging a pile of bricks and rubble from beneath his sneakered feet, arms windmilling for balance as his eyes skittered over the broken landscape behind him. There was nothing there; he’d heard tell of others being fooled by the silence however, not knowing that they were being stalked until it was too late. It was always too late when a vampire was involved; no one human stood a chance against one of the undead. They were too fast, too strong, too goddamned violent to ever be under-estimated. 

A sudden rush of movement close by indicated the start of the attack; Chris flinched at a sudden whip of movement brushing past his cheek, close enough to graze his skin. He felt the faint blush of blooming blood slide down his cheek at even such minimal contact. It was then that Chris convinced himself that he was a dead man, and again, he cursed himself for not remaining at Karl’s house. 

He heard a sudden, loud shriek blasting against the back of his head, fetid warm breath brushing against his hair, making him pitch forward into a tight roll upon the ground. His back collided with asphalt and sharp rubble, before he was on his feet once more, facing in the opposite direction than before. A sudden thump of a body hitting the ground hard indicated that the vampire that had been behind him had been felled; Chris could see the shadowy lump of a body laying prone on the ground, limbs splayed awkwardly and a sharp shaft sticking up out of the vampire’s chest.

Chris moved forward slightly, feet colliding with the ground in a brief shuffle-shuffle of movements, before his steps faltered and he froze, too frightened, too wary to even approach the vampire, even though he suspected the thing was now laying dead on the ground.

“It’s alight; you can approach,” a voice said, from behind him, low and almost eerily softly spoken as though the man was unused to speaking aloud too often. “I can assure you, it’s quite dead.” 

Chris whipped around again, thinking another of the vampires was behind him; his shoulders slumped in relief when he realized that the man behind him was all too painfully human. Chris couldn’t help but notice the crossbow, divulged of its ammunition, pointing laxly at the floor beneath the other’s feet. Despite being free of ammunition, the thing still looked deadly and had obviously seen much use in recent times, given the old, battered appearance of the wood. 

The man stalked forward past Chris, giving him a sidelong glance as he did so. Chris realized only then just how long he’d been staring, unnerved and unprepared for the other’s appearance so suddenly in the street, when he’d thought he’d been alone but for the vampire. He suddenly felt rude, and was about to open his mouth to apologize, when the other man spoke again. 

“What are you doing out so late anyway?” the man asked, a little gruffly. “Don’t you know there’s curfew?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Chris replied, finally finding his tongue long enough to reply. 

The man stopped just short of poking the dead vampire with the edge of his crossbow to pin Chris with a glare, before his shoulders slumped in resignation and he rolled his eyes.

“As you can see, it is my duty to rid the night streets of marauding vampires. Likewise, I see that that duty is not yours,” the man said, as he stared at Chris’ woefully empty hands. 

Chris sighed in turn, before he said - “Fine. I got stupidly drunk round my friend’s house and thought it a good idea to return home.”

“While drunk,” the man said, with a snort. “That sounds about right. The times I’ve heard that one. This one’s dead, anyhow. You’re safe for a while. Have you got far to go?” 

“I only live on the next street over,” Chris said. “Why? Are you gonna walk me home like a damsel in distress?”

“You said it, not me,” the man replied, with a diffident shrug.

He turned and started to stride away, stopping only when he realized that Chris wasn’t with him. He threw a glance at Chris over his shoulder, eyebrow raised in a - you coming? - way. Chris sighed and walked towards him, snorting when the other man fell into step beside him. 

“All this and you never told me your name,” Chris said. “You at least should tell me that, after you saved my life.” 

The man stared at him as though he thought him a little strange, before he afforded Chris a tight smile. 

“Zachary,” the man said. “My name’s Zachary. You?” 

“Chris,” Chris replied, shortly. “And thanks.” 

“It’s my job. Duty. Whatever,” Zachary said, with a roll of his eyes and a weary shrug, as though the very idea of hunting and killing vampires was a boring one to him. 

“Why do you do this anyway?” Chris asked, as he pointed at the crossbows.

“Someone’s got to do it,” Zachary replied, quietly. “Besides, I really hate vampires.” 

“Good reasons,” Chris said, before he indicated that they’d finally arrived at his house. “We’re here. Be seeing you, I guess.” 

“Harsh as it sounds, but I hope we don’t have to,” Zachary said. “Next time, my shot may not be a lucky one.” 

Chris stared at him, hoping that he was joking. By the look upon Zachary’s face, he could tell that the other man wasn’t. 

“Right,” he said, slowly. “That’s kinda disheartening. Do you ever miss?” 

“Rarely, but it happens on occasion,” Zachary said, with a shrug before he turned away. “You might want to clean up that wound on your cheek. Sorry I nicked you, but it could have been worse for you.” 

Chris only had time to huff out a surprised breath, as his hand rose to probe his cheek, before Zachary was gone, disappeared in the night-dark street like the very vampires he hunted. Chris waited for a while, wondering, a little vainly, if perhaps Zachary would return. When the silence became too much and the absolute stillness grated upon his nerves, Chris turned and finally attained the safety of his house, locking the door firmly behind him.

It was only as he sank to the floor, back sliding against the wooden barrier that separated him from the vampires that hunted outside, that he realized just how close a call he’d had. His head thunked back against the door and he stared up at the ceiling blankly, glad that he still was alive and could draw breath for another day. He vowed then to never break curfew again; he knew it better to impose on Karl, than to wind up dead, or worse, a vampire himself.


End file.
